This week, I am happy to report that one of my concerns on the Board was addressed. Last year, a fee increase for the parks went through without a vote of the Commissioners. When I asked how that is possible, I was told that the resolution creating the Ingham County Parks and Recreation includes language that says that the Parks Commission can create fees that go into effect if the Board of Commissioners don't strike them down within 60 days. That greatly upset me because I believe that the Board of Commissioners are the elected officials, and should set those fees. So, I authored a resolution that requires any fee increases to be approved by the Board first. That resolution came before the County Services and Finance Committees this week. In County Services, we amended it to allow for concessions fees to be changed by the Parks staff because those prices can fluctuate and we don't want to micromanage too much, but the rest of the fees are now subject to Board approval and will be on the annual fee schedule. I always believe that fees and taxes should be in the hands of the elected officials or the people, and not the staff. I am proud that this passed the committees unanimously.
In Finance, we also learned of an exciting proposal. If you remember last week, the Parks Department had an offer of cheap fill dirt and we are now putting that on the Tubing Hill at Hawk Island. Well, the Parks Commission was approached by a group of people who want to create the first ever public snowboard park at Hawk Island. Because the tubing hill is a curve, the snowboard hill would be on an adjacent part of the hill and used for snowboarders. They are asking for a loan of $30,000 to properly create the hill and for equipment and other things, which will be paid back in fees that are collected to use the hill. The snowboard community will also be donating thousands of dollars worth of equipment. The business is working with the Parks Department to craft a proposal that we will see in two weeks or a month, and this will attract numerous snowboarders to Hawk Island and to the Lansing area.
Also in the good news column, we learned this week that as of March, all 8 deputies that were laid off as a result of the defeat of the 12 township votes on road patrol now have jobs. So we will have no laid off out of work deputies. I am disappointed that those people had to go 3 months laid off, but am happy that they are now all taken care of. This was announced after we passed the resolution approving the contract with Williamstown for the dollars that we promised them because they passed the assessment for police. I am still hopeful that the other 12 townships will take us up on the money that we set aside for them, and we will hold that money for them until December 31st.
Finally, as you most definitely know by now, the Governor released his budget plan. In it, he cut revenue sharing from the state to the counties by 1/3. Ingham County was looking at the potential of a big deficit (anywhere from $5 million to $8 million), and the cuts the Governor has announced will definitely substantially increase that deficit if approved by the Governor. We will be looking at those numbers at the next Finance committee. This will not be pretty for Ingham County or for local governments anywhere, and either services will be slashed or local taxes will have to be raised. Budgeting will not be fun for the next year. But stay tuned!
Andy
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Fill Dirt, Condolences
So sorry for the really late post!
This week, we had our full Board of Commissioners meeting. There was not much controversial on the agenda, and most of the things I reported on last week passed on our consent agenda.
We did have one late item added to our agenda. As you may remember, the county is creating a snow tubing hill at Hawk Island (funded years ago). We had a request from our parks department to allow for the purchase of some extra fill dirt for the hill construction. A company was doing another digging project and had excess fill dirt. They basically charged us the price to move the dirt from the project in Delta Twp to Hawk Island. The construction of the snow tubing hill requires a large amount of fill dirt - essentially doubling the size of the hill. The company will deliver between 15,000 and 20,000 cubic yards of fill dirt at a total cost not to exceed $30,000. The current going rate for fill dirt in the area is around $8 per cubic yard, undelivered. The $30,000 will basically cover the cost of transporting the dirt and comes to about $2 per cubic yard delivered. This money will come from the Parks budget. This was a great opportunity to save some money in the long term.
Otherwise, the Board meeting was non-controversial. Several people passed away recently, and they were recognized. In my district, Ann Spencer passed away. She was the Treasurer for the Old Everett Neighborhood Association and was a tremendous woman. She will be greatly missed in our community. I also indicated my condolences to Dalia Harris, who was the teacher of both my children at their day care. She lost her son, Anthony, in the tragic car crash involving the Holt students. Also lost in the car crash was Holly Bossenberry, niece of constituent and friend and CADL Board Member Marge Bossenberry. My heart goes out to all of these families.
Until next week...
This week, we had our full Board of Commissioners meeting. There was not much controversial on the agenda, and most of the things I reported on last week passed on our consent agenda.
We did have one late item added to our agenda. As you may remember, the county is creating a snow tubing hill at Hawk Island (funded years ago). We had a request from our parks department to allow for the purchase of some extra fill dirt for the hill construction. A company was doing another digging project and had excess fill dirt. They basically charged us the price to move the dirt from the project in Delta Twp to Hawk Island. The construction of the snow tubing hill requires a large amount of fill dirt - essentially doubling the size of the hill. The company will deliver between 15,000 and 20,000 cubic yards of fill dirt at a total cost not to exceed $30,000. The current going rate for fill dirt in the area is around $8 per cubic yard, undelivered. The $30,000 will basically cover the cost of transporting the dirt and comes to about $2 per cubic yard delivered. This money will come from the Parks budget. This was a great opportunity to save some money in the long term.
Otherwise, the Board meeting was non-controversial. Several people passed away recently, and they were recognized. In my district, Ann Spencer passed away. She was the Treasurer for the Old Everett Neighborhood Association and was a tremendous woman. She will be greatly missed in our community. I also indicated my condolences to Dalia Harris, who was the teacher of both my children at their day care. She lost her son, Anthony, in the tragic car crash involving the Holt students. Also lost in the car crash was Holly Bossenberry, niece of constituent and friend and CADL Board Member Marge Bossenberry. My heart goes out to all of these families.
Until next week...
Thursday, February 3, 2011
condolensces, lawsuit policy, dog park
This week has been a very tough week for many friends. The accident in Holt has had a tremendous affect on our family. Our friend lost her son in that tragic accident, and another friend lost her niece. Our hearts go out to them. In addition, the Mayor of the City of Leslie passed away after being sick for many years and I send my condolences to his family and the community of Leslie. Finally, my constituent and friend Ann Spencer, the Treasurer of the Old Everett Neighborhood Network, passed away this week and it is a tremendous loss for our community.
On to county business. If you read my blog regularly (which of course you do!), you know that there recently have been several occasions of county entities suing the county (road commission, judge). As a result, multiple legal fees and other expenses were incurred at the expense of the Ingham County taxpayers without the county Board being consulted first.
I announced last year that I would be proposing a policy that requires that the County Board be notified before anyone takes legal action against the county. That resolution went before County Service and Finance this week. The resolution adopts the following procedures to be used in the event it is inevitable for one Ingham County entity to sue another:
1) An Ingham County entity must exhaust all efforts to resolve an issue with another Ingham County entity prior to initiating any formal legal proceedings or lawsuits.
2) Funds for outside Counsel shall not be incurred or expended without prior approval of the Board of Commissioners.
3) In emergency situations, Board Leadership and the Controller/Administrator are authorized to approve legal expenditures as long as the Liaison Committee, County Services and Finance Committees are notified immediately.
4) In the event the County incurs a financial obligation, the Board of Commissioners will determine the appropriate funding source, including but not limited to either parties’ existing County budget or the Contingency Fund.
5)Entities must first consider the possibility of utilizing counsel from an adjacent governmental unit.
In Finance, we added language recognizing that elected county officers in conflict must receive representation from the county (according to state law) if they have civil suits and the county attorney or prosecutor can't represent them. We added language that I wanted, though, that specified that these county elected officers must first consult with the Board of Commissioners to determine the amount of compensation for any outside counsel and to ensure that all other avenues have been exhausted. This policy passed both committees unanimously.
We also finalized how the Soldan Dog Park will be policed, and how the people and dogs will be protected. The Soldan Dog Park, a City of Lansing Dog Park, is located within the City of Lansing’s Scott Woods Park, with entrances through both Scott Woods Park and Hawk Island County Park.
The City of Lansing and the County and the Friends of the Dog Park will all have signed an agreement (if the County Board passes this on Tuesday) offered by the Soldan Dog Park Task Force requiring the installation of an electronic entry gate system at the dog park with an associated user fee to cover costs. Implementation of an electronic entry gate system will help regulate the safety of dog park users through the verification of licensure and vaccinations of dogs and reduce the need to staff volunteers to “police” the dog park.
The Ingham County Parks and Recreation Commission supported this project with the passage of Resolution #32-10 at their August 23, 2010 meeting. This resolution authorizes the acceptance by the county Parks Department of a $2,300 donation from the Friends of Greater Lansing Dog Parks Friends and a $2,300 contribution from the City of Lansing to be used for the purchase and installation of an electronic gate system at the Soldan Dog Park. The County will also add $2,630 from the Parks budget for the Soldan Dog Park Electronic Gate System project. Previously, the proposal was for a $40 annual fee. I successfully had an amendment passed that would reduce these fees to $30 annually, and this language remained in the proopsal. In addition, the annual fee will be $15 for Students, Seniors, and Veterans. It will be $5 for a One Day Pass, and $5 for FOB Replacement.
Finally, the resolution cements the agreement between the County and the City for the operation of portions of Scott Woods Park and the River Trail. The county will maintain the non-motorized pathway through Scott Woods Park, Soldan Dog Park, and the Lansing River Trail from Potter Park to Maguire Park. Security will be provided by Lansing via 911 calls for emergencies. These complaints will then be relayed to the county who will shut off the key fobs of the offenders. In addition, there will be a phone number on the key fob that will go directly to the county.
This resolution passed unanimously.
Because the Finance Committee was snowed out and was rescheduled for today (Thursday), I am going to quit now as it is 11 pm.
Goodnight, all!
On to county business. If you read my blog regularly (which of course you do!), you know that there recently have been several occasions of county entities suing the county (road commission, judge). As a result, multiple legal fees and other expenses were incurred at the expense of the Ingham County taxpayers without the county Board being consulted first.
I announced last year that I would be proposing a policy that requires that the County Board be notified before anyone takes legal action against the county. That resolution went before County Service and Finance this week. The resolution adopts the following procedures to be used in the event it is inevitable for one Ingham County entity to sue another:
1) An Ingham County entity must exhaust all efforts to resolve an issue with another Ingham County entity prior to initiating any formal legal proceedings or lawsuits.
2) Funds for outside Counsel shall not be incurred or expended without prior approval of the Board of Commissioners.
3) In emergency situations, Board Leadership and the Controller/Administrator are authorized to approve legal expenditures as long as the Liaison Committee, County Services and Finance Committees are notified immediately.
4) In the event the County incurs a financial obligation, the Board of Commissioners will determine the appropriate funding source, including but not limited to either parties’ existing County budget or the Contingency Fund.
5)Entities must first consider the possibility of utilizing counsel from an adjacent governmental unit.
In Finance, we added language recognizing that elected county officers in conflict must receive representation from the county (according to state law) if they have civil suits and the county attorney or prosecutor can't represent them. We added language that I wanted, though, that specified that these county elected officers must first consult with the Board of Commissioners to determine the amount of compensation for any outside counsel and to ensure that all other avenues have been exhausted. This policy passed both committees unanimously.
We also finalized how the Soldan Dog Park will be policed, and how the people and dogs will be protected. The Soldan Dog Park, a City of Lansing Dog Park, is located within the City of Lansing’s Scott Woods Park, with entrances through both Scott Woods Park and Hawk Island County Park.
The City of Lansing and the County and the Friends of the Dog Park will all have signed an agreement (if the County Board passes this on Tuesday) offered by the Soldan Dog Park Task Force requiring the installation of an electronic entry gate system at the dog park with an associated user fee to cover costs. Implementation of an electronic entry gate system will help regulate the safety of dog park users through the verification of licensure and vaccinations of dogs and reduce the need to staff volunteers to “police” the dog park.
The Ingham County Parks and Recreation Commission supported this project with the passage of Resolution #32-10 at their August 23, 2010 meeting. This resolution authorizes the acceptance by the county Parks Department of a $2,300 donation from the Friends of Greater Lansing Dog Parks Friends and a $2,300 contribution from the City of Lansing to be used for the purchase and installation of an electronic gate system at the Soldan Dog Park. The County will also add $2,630 from the Parks budget for the Soldan Dog Park Electronic Gate System project. Previously, the proposal was for a $40 annual fee. I successfully had an amendment passed that would reduce these fees to $30 annually, and this language remained in the proopsal. In addition, the annual fee will be $15 for Students, Seniors, and Veterans. It will be $5 for a One Day Pass, and $5 for FOB Replacement.
Finally, the resolution cements the agreement between the County and the City for the operation of portions of Scott Woods Park and the River Trail. The county will maintain the non-motorized pathway through Scott Woods Park, Soldan Dog Park, and the Lansing River Trail from Potter Park to Maguire Park. Security will be provided by Lansing via 911 calls for emergencies. These complaints will then be relayed to the county who will shut off the key fobs of the offenders. In addition, there will be a phone number on the key fob that will go directly to the county.
This resolution passed unanimously.
Because the Finance Committee was snowed out and was rescheduled for today (Thursday), I am going to quit now as it is 11 pm.
Goodnight, all!
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